Shaq maybe good in the locker room to make a team cohesive and mesh together with his confidence and no-lose at ude, but I doubt he will provide results on teh court like he used to. Unless if Nash takes extra measures to give Shaq the ball, then everybody elses numbers on the Suns will go down.
Udoka on Stoudemire? Yeah, the Spurs should become the Suns while the Suns become the Spurs.
Good plan
Ok who do you have guard Stoudamire?
Duncan?
Sure, but then all of a sudden 2004 Shaq is gonna be guarded by Elson and Oberto and OMG, HE CANT BE FOULED!!!
Much to David Stern's shagrin.What sucks for the Spurs is they are built to beat small ball teams. Now the Suns are no longer small ball and the Lakers are no longer small ball. It's kinda like 2006 when the Spurs were still built to beat Shaq teams and the NBA changed on them.
It happened again. It looks like small ball is officially dead. It's back to just being Don Nelson again ... just like it's always been
Although Nelson can run out Biedrins, maybe O'Bryant.
lol
you're right about that! we'll run & gun and small-ball them to death!
Yeah cause Amare is a smart level headed fellow.
Suns without Marion will take a definite hit to their game, I think the Heat would greatly benefit from this deal... Marion is easily one of the most versatile players in the league. Wade, Marion and Haslem are quite a nice system to work around.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3232862
Sources: Suns a 'yes' away from acquiring Shaq for Marion
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
The seemingly improbable pairing of an aging Shaquille O'Neal and the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns is just a final "yes" from the Suns away from happening, according to NBA front-office sources.
Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday night thaat the Miami Heat have already agreed to send O'Neal to the Suns in exchange for All-Star forward Shawn Marion and out-of-favor guard Marcus Banks. Miami is simply waiting for Phoenix management to complete a medical examination of O'Neal and formally accept what would rank as one of most unexpected trades in league history.
"It looks like it's going to happen," said one source close to the situation. "We should know for sure by tomorrow."
ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reported Tuesday night on SportsCenter that O'Neal is scheduled to arrive in Phoenix on Wednesday to undergo a physical. A source close to Marion told ESPN.com early Wednesday that the Suns have informed the 29-year-old that the deal will go through, with the forward eager now to move on after playing with the Suns for his whole career.
The Arizona Republic, also reported that a deal could be imminent and that O'Neal had contacted some Suns players Tuesday night.
The Miami Herald first reported on its Web site Tuesday night that the Heat have informed O'Neal that they are shopping him and that talks with the Suns were serious.
That apparently surprised O'Neal ... but also pleased him. Sources told ESPN.com that the 35-year-old -- in the midst of his least productive season and with the Heat cratering from a championship in 2006 to a 9-37 record less than two years later -- is eager to leave Miami and his deteriorating relationship with Heat coach Pat Riley.
Making a move for O'Neal appears on the surface to make little basketball or financial sense for the Suns. O'Neal's arrival in Phoenix would undoubtedly prompt widespread skepticism about his ability to keep up in the Suns' high-octane system. The two years and $40 million remaining on O'Neal's contract after this season also clashes with the Suns' recent pattern of trading away players (such as Kurt Thomas) and draft picks in attempt to reduce payroll and eventually drag themselves away from the NBA luxury-tax line of $67.875 million.
The Suns, though, have been plagued by well-chronicled concerns about their chemistry for nearly two years, generally focusing on the occasional dissatisfaction voiced behind the scenes by either Marion or Amare Stoudemire. In the locker room as well as the front office, sources say, there are factions that have believed for some time that one of them would eventually have to be traded for the Suns to reach their full potential.
Those in-house doubts about this group's ability to break through and win the first championship in team history have only grown this season, sources say, even though Phoenix currently holds the best record in the West at 34-14.
But owner Robert Sarver and team president Steve Kerr, according to sources with knowledge of the Suns' thinking, have ruled out trading Stoudemire, despite season-long speculation suggesting that his defensive deficiencies would ultimately lead to his exit before Marion's. Sarver and Kerr have deemed Stoudemire too valuable to part with, given that he's only 25 and continues to play at an All-Star level after three surgeries, ranking as perhaps the NBA's most successful comeback patient from the dreaded microfracture knee procedure.
Marion asked to be traded before the season but has rarely mentioned that declaration since, with many Suns insiders believing that he went public with that request mostly as a protest response to being mentioned in trade rumors for years. If he leaves now, it's likely more because Phoenix believes a) that Boris Diaw can assume some of Marion's old duties, b) that Stoudemire will relish playing alongside Shaq as a power forward as opposed to masquerading as a center and c) that team chemistry will improve immediately with this change.
Acquiring O'Neal would also address the size issues Phoenix has faced since two-time MVP Steve Nash was reacquired as a free agent in the summer of 2004 to orchestrate coach Mike D'Antoni's free-wheeling system.
The Suns are said to be confident that Nash can find a way to get Shaq involved offensively. And it's undeniably true that the West is still filled with plenty of big men for Shaq to match up with. Just to name five: San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Houston's Yao Ming, New Orleans' Tyson Chandler, Portland's Greg Oden (next season) and Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Of course, O'Neal turns 36 in March and has been plagued by a persistent hip problem that has cost him 14 games this season. He refused to speak with Miami reporters after Tuesday's practice, while Riley insisted that O'Neal would soon undergo an MRI after missing the Heat's past six games.
And when he has been healthy, O'Neal is averaging a career-worst 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds, while the Heat's demise has deepened after they followed their historic comeback from 2-0 down against Dallas in the 2006 NBA Finals by absorbing a first-round sweep by Chicago last season.
So if the deal does go through as widely expected now, Phoenix would be banking on the idea that O'Neal will be rejuvenated health-wise and reinvigorated mentally by the prospect of fresh start, after a half-season in which his remaining effectiveness and durability have been doubted louder than ever.
Miami's motivation, meanwhile, is clear. The Heat's need to revamp their entire roster around Dwyane Wade grows more apparent by the day in what ranks as an unprecedented collapse for a championship team that didn't lose its star players. Marion has the ability to opt out of his contract at season's end if he's willing to forfeit next season's $17.2 million salary, potentially giving the Heat substantial salary-cap space as early as this summer.
It remains to be seen if the Heat want Marion more for the financial flexibility or because they see him as a long-term complement to Wade. It also remains to be seen how much Phoenix will miss Marion's athleticism and versatility, since his ability to guard all five positions and tireless running made him a one-of-a-kind fit alongside Nash in D'Antoni's system.
Sarver said earlier this month that Marion was one of the Suns' cornerstone players who "flat-out was not getting traded," but that changed once Miami started shopping O'Neal. Although Riley later denied it, Bucher reported on ESPN2's "NBA Coast to Coast" last week that Miami had been begun to gauge trade interest in the hulking center with four championship rings from his time with the Lakers and Heat.
Although attempts to reach officials from both teams proved unsuccessful, D'Antoni did acknowledge the possibility of O'Neal's arrival on his weekly radio show Tuesday night, saying: "It would mean a lot. [But] that's a big question that's got to be thought over and pondered."
true... I don't think the ego's of Marion or Amare could fully rally behind Nash and D'Antoni like you mentioned. there's a good chance for an improvement there... but I'm a long ways away from saying that their chemistry (after playing together for 3 months) will be similar to the Spurs who have a core of proven character guys... and they've won multiple championships together.
Amare will probably get even more shots. Teams still have to double Shaq and that will mean wide open perimeter jumpers for Amare ... which he can knock down. And then when the Suns run a pick and roll with Nash and Amare, you can't leave Shaq or else Nash will just pass it to Shaq for a dunk.
The players that will be hurt by this move are the players who depended on the fast pace to score ... like Barbosa and even Bell. Nash, Stoudemire, Hill and Shaq can all be effective in the half court.
I'll predict that the Spur whose PT is going to benefit the most by this move is Bonner...
The last time Oberto tried to guard Shaq, Shaq flattened Oberto and Oberto was out for two weeks.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insid...ShaqSuns080206
Shaq trade just wouldn't add up for Suns
By John Hollinger
ESPN Insider
The Phoenix Suns have the best record in the Western Conference, a game and a half ahead of their closest rival. They have the best scoring margin in the conference. They're 8-2 in their past 10 games (while outscoring opponents by nine points per game). And the Suns have a slew of home games coming up because their early schedule was so road-heavy.
In other words, after 48 games they're in as good a position as they've ever been in to win their first conference le since Sir Charles and KJ did it 15 years ago.
And their solution? Blow it up!
The Suns are reportedly in negotiations to trade Shawn Marion -- a man everyone agrees is a vital cog in their attack because of his ability to run opponents into submission from the power forward spot -- for Shaquille O'Neal. (The Suns would include Marcus Banks.)
Good call. Clearly this Nash-Marion-Stoudamire nucleus isn't working out; they've won only 62 and 61 games the two years they were together. This year they were on pace for a meager 58, so I guess they thought it had run its course.
My first reaction to hearing reports about this deal was that I was being Punk'd. After that, I checked the calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1, and verified that the voice on the other end of the phone didn't belong to Orson Welles.
But there was no Ashton Kutcher, no Orson Welles, and the calendar says it's February.
Believe it or not, this is a real, live trade discussion that might actually happen. I'm not sure I've adequately conveyed my shock at this development, but suffice it to say nobody I've talked to finds it even remotely sensible.
Shaq may be the one player who is least capable of thriving in the Suns' system. Run the break? No, thank you. Set a high screen and dive to the cup? Maybe 10 years ago. Space the floor for 3s? Please.
He's 35 and out of shape; at the moment he's also hurt. Even when healthy, he's had difficulty staying out of foul trouble long enough to make an impact. While I'll grant that Shaq can still be an offensive force -- even with his struggles this year his PER is a very solid 18.17 -- he's toasted regularly on defense. And if you thought Marion complained about not getting shots, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Even if you subscribe to the idea that Marion had to go -- there have been mutterings about his at ude for quite a while -- you can't seriously tell me this was the best deal on the table.
While matching his $17 million contract is difficult, the fact that there's only a year and a half left on it means there are partners out there. Just thinking out loud, for instance, you'd think New Jersey would have taken Marion in a heartbeat for Vince Carter or Richard Jefferson, and the Andrei Kirilenko deal that was so heavily discussed before the season also would seem preferable.
Marion, by the way, hadn't let his dissatisfaction and his own offseason trade demand affect his play. His 20.25 PER nearly matches last year's 20.87, and he's made up for a reduction in shots by cutting his turnovers and increasing his assists.
But despite his performance they're trading him for an older, less effective player, and one who could not be more of a square peg in a round hole in their system.
And get this -- the deal will worsen their cap situation, too. Shaq is on the books for two years after this one at $20 million a pop, whereas Marion only has one year left at less money, and may opt out after this season. So in addition to messing up their own team, the Suns will be basically handing Pat Riley a big fat Get Out of Jail Free card.
In short, this deal feels like one of these movie scenes where the lead character has a plan and says, "It's crazy ... but it just might work!"
I'm not sure about the working part, but it's definitely crazy. I'm praying this trade doesn't really happen, because the Suns have been too entertaining for too long to screw up their le chances like this.
The bottom line about all of this is that Shawn Marion freaking sucked against the Spurs...if his absence won't be noticed against any team...it's us.
And somehow I don't think sticking Bruce on Shaq is going to be as effective as sticking him on Marion was. Call it a hunch.
More like Amare probably grew up idolizing Shaq...in fact I'm pretty sure I've heard him say that before.
Let me edit my previous take. With the Warriors signing Webber and promising him to start every game, even Don Nelson has given up on small ball. Amazing.
The Spurs are built to beat teams that don't exist anymore. Doesn't mean the Spurs can't win the championship or anything like that but it just sucks that half the West gave up on small ball in the middle of the season right when the Spurs actually got good at small ball
I haven't seen Shaq doubled in a while. I doubt we will for another month. How long is he still out for? There have been many/numerous instances during the times he's played that he has been effectively contained with 1 on 1 D.
Well Hollinger said it won't work, so it's bound to work.
No kidding.nd somehow I don't think sticking Bruce on Shaq is going to be as effective as sticking him on Marion was
Amare will probably get even more shots. Teams still have to double Shaq and that will mean wide open perimeter jumpers for Amare ... which he can knock down. And then when the Suns run a pick and roll with Nash and Amare, you can't leave Shaq or else Nash will just pass it to Shaq for a dunk.
The players that will be hurt by this move are the players who depended on the fast pace to score ... like Barbosa and even Bell. Nash, Stoudemire, Hill and Shaq can all be effective in the half court.
Ok the Spurs are ed.
Well Hollinger said it won't work, so it's bound to work.
Yeah, thats the last person I wanted to see on my side.
Shaq would demand double-teams five years from now.
Udoka's worthyness just got less worthy.
Honestly, now if your the Spurs, you look to package up Barry or Finley and make a deal.
Pryzbilla might be someone to look out.
Doubtfull hes moved though in the west.
PER! PER!
He sits only behind Simmons as ESPN's worst writer, but he's gaining.
I don't get how anyone would think that Amare wouldn't welcome this trade. He'll become a better player playing next to Diesel and he knows it.
le chances of the Suns just got better, IMO.
Ehh.. If the Spurs get healthy, they can beat anyone in a 7 game series. Let the rest of the league scramble to pick up players. If the Spurs can get younger by dangling Elson/Finley/Barry or whoever else, fine. But the Spurs will be in good shape come playoff time if everyone gets healthy and they find some cohesiveness.
I thought about saying that but then I imagined Bonner trying to guard Stoudemire or Shaq.
So whom do we trade to get Rasho back?
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